iCarly Christmas
by Igettvgeeks
Summary: A story that takes Carly and the gang through Christmas and into the new year. I hope to have a new chapter every couple of days. Creddie eventually. the holidays as only Spencer can create them. Set after IQuit iCarly and before iSaved Your Life.
1. iHate Finals

Icarly Christmas

Chapter 1:

Ihate Finals

Carly sat on her couch watching TV with Sam. They had their books out and spread on the table in front of them but they weren't paying much attention to them.

"Sam, that's enough TV, we have to get back to studying for Ms. Briggs test tomorrow." Carly said.

"That's okay. She's going to give me an F anyway. What's the point?" Sam said as she bit off a piece of her sandwich.

"You know if you'd study Sam you wouldn't get F's. This isn't a normal test. It's the final. It's the last test we'll take before break. We need to do well on it." Carly said grabbing the sandwich from Sam's hand and placing it on the plate on the table.

"Fine. We'll study. But if I get bored we have to take a break." Sam said.

"You'll get bored in two minutes. We'll take a break in 30 minutes. That's when Freddie is supposed to come over and work with us on the Icarly Christmas special." Carly said.

"Fine we'll take a break when the nub gets here to bore us with his tech speak." Sam said.

"It's not all boring. I mean we should listen every now and again what happens if he is sick or something… wait! You are trying to distract me from studying. It's not going to work. We need to go over these math problems together." Carly said.

They both grabbed their books and started studying. Carly was writing problems down in a notebook. Sam put the book over her face.

"Sam! That's not going to help you get a good grade on the test!" Carly said.

"Ugghh. Fine, I'll actually write stuff down." Sam said grabbing a notebook and pencil. The two of them studied in peace for the next 30 minutes when they heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Sam said jumping up to open the door. Freddie stood in the hallway holding his backpack with his laptop case over his shoulder. Sam gave him a big hug and he nearly dropped his backpack.

"Sam. What are you doing?" Freddie asked.

"I've just never been this happy to see your nubby face." She said as she let go and the two of them walked into the apartment.

Freddie looks at Carly, "You've been studying haven't you?" he asked.

"For a whole half hour." Carly said as she set her book down on the table and stood. "So are we ready to go start planning the Christmas special?"

"Sure" Freddie said.

"Momma wants ham before we go upstairs." Sam said rushing to the refrigerator.

"Do you want anything to drink Freddie?" Carly asked joining Sam in the kitchen.

Freddie dropped his book bag on the chair next to the door and said, "Fizzy Cola?"

Carly was nearly knocked over by Sam who had grabbed a few pieces of ham and was searching for a plate to put them on.

"Spencer forgot to get some at the store. I guess all we have is cranberry juice, grapefruit juice, or water." Carly said.

"What up with all the juice?" Sam asked in between bites of ham.

"Spencer's on a healthy kick. Except that these juices have a ton of sugar in them because he doesn't buy the real stuff. He gets the cheap-0 version." Carly said.

"You know I have this new program that I want to install today during the meeting so maybe I shouldn't have anything around the computer on second thought." Freddie said.

Carly and Sam both grabbed glasses of water and headed to the stairs. Freddie joined them at the bottom of the stairs ready to head to the studio when Sam suddenly rushed past him and went to the table in front of the couch. She grabbed her sandwich and rushed past hi again to continue following Carly up the stairs.

"That's fine Sam. I understand your sandwich is more important than the very expensive equipment that I have." Freddie said as he followed them up to the studio.

Carly and Sam sat down on beanbag chairs as Freddie got his computer set up and pulled out a new CD. He inserted it into the computer and waited for it to load. Sam had all ready dived back into her sandwich.

"So what's this new program Freddie?" Carly asked.

"It's really cool. It has new sounds and graphics. It was a little pricey but I think it'll be great for the new year of iCarly. I already have some really cool graphics for our new years eve show." Freddie said excitedly.

"Cool. How'd you get the money for it?" Carly asked.

"It was an early Christmas gift from my Aunt." Freddie said.

"Okay. Well you can finish that while Carly and I actually plan the Christmas special. We don't really need graphics right now; we need ideas for the show." Sam said.

"Plan away." Freddie said as he lowered his head and went to working on the computer.

"Wait, that's it. No arguing about contributing to the show?" Sam said.

"Yeah. I'll work on tech. You guys work on the ideas. You're the ones who have to perform it after all." Freddie said not looking up from the computer.

"Freddie, we want your ideas too. Really." Carly said standing.

"It's okay Carly. I don't really have any ideas. I've been so busy with studying for finals that I haven't really thought of Icarly that much. You guys can come up with ideas faster than I can anyway." Freddie said.

"Okay but you know that if you have an idea that you think would be funny we want to hear it. You are allowed to come up with stuff too." Carly said.

"Sure. I'm really nervous about this history final tomorrow so I think I'm going to get my books and study for a little while this loads." Freddie said as he turns and leaves the studio.

Carly turned to Sam and sat down next to her on a beanbag chair. "That was weird. Usually he puts up a fight. He must really be freaked out about finals. You know we should really be studying too." Carly said.

"We can study later. iCarly is more important." Sam said. Carly looked at her. "It's more fun that's for sure." Sam said.

"I just don't want him to feel like he's not important and quit or something. The last thing we need is someone else quitting this show." Carly said. There was a moment of silence between them.

"Ham?" Sam asked.

Freddie grabbed his book bag from the chair and sat down. He grabbed his history book and opened it to start studying. After a couple of minutes of silence he heard the door open and heard Spencer yell, "Groceries! HELP!" Freddie stood and grabbed a coupe of bags from Spencer's arms. They took them to the kitchen and set them on the table.

"Thanks." Spencer said. "Where's Carly?"

"Upstairs with Sam planning out iCarly." Freddie said.

"Why aren't you up there with them?"

"I'm waiting for a program to load on my computer so I decided to do some studying for my history final that's tomorrow."

"Aren't you usually at the meetings?"

"Yeah but I really need to study for this final." Freddie said as he crossed the room and sat back down on the chair.

"Okay." Spencer said as he started to put groceries away. Freddie heard a loud thud and looked up. Spencer had dropped a few boxes that he was trying to put away.

"Sorry." He said as he picked them up and finally got them into the cabinet. Another few minutes passed as Freddie was reading his history book when he heard a loud crash again. Spencer had dropped the juice bottles as he was rearranging things in the refrigerator.

"Do you need some help Spencer?" Freddie asked standing and moving into the kitchen.

"I've got it." Spencer said as he grabbed some cans and then dropped them on the floor. "Some help might be good." He said.

Freddie walked over to the table and started unpacking the bags that sat there.

"You'd really rather be studying than up there planning Icarly?" Spencer asked.

"It's a really important final. I haven't really been doing to well in that class. I guess iCarly has just taken up more time than I thought. Not that it's not my favorite thing to do but I am kind of freaking out about this final." Freddie said.

"Well for what it's worth the show looks really good this year. I mean the tech stuff is getting really good. Except for the one where you guys tried to do iCarly from two locations but I'm sure with enough practice even that would be great." Spencer said.

"Yeah. I guess. It's just my mom is going to freak if I don't get at least a B in this history class. I have a C- right now."

Carly and Sam start to come down the stairs as Freddie and Spencer continue to talk.

"Well, if you are that worried about it you should tell Carly and Sam."

Yeah. I just don't think Sam would understand." Freddie said.

"You're software has loaded." Carly said.

"I wouldn't understand what?" Sam asked.

"I don't think I can stick around and help with icarly. I really need to do well on this history final tomorrow. Can we do it tomorrow afternoon?" Freddie said.

"Sure. We need to get back to studying too." Carly said.

"Wait, is Freddward doing bad in a class?" Sam asked.

"Sam come on. We should all get back to studying." Carly said.

The three of them went back to studying. At six Sam went home after promising Carly that she would study at home.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Spencer asked Freddie.

"Thanks but I should get home. My mom's across the hall with something that probably tastes gross waiting for me."

"Hey Freddie? Does it really bother you that you don't come up with a lot of the bits for iCarly?" Carly asked.

"Not really Carly. I'm just glad that I get to watch you perform them. I don't care who comes up with them and I'm sure whatever you and Sam plan for the Christmas special is going to be awesome. I'll see you at school." Freddie said as he grabbed his stuff and headed into the hall.

"Hey Freddie? What do you want for Christmas?" Carly asked.

Freddie stood in the hallway looking into the apartment. "I don't suppose you're an option?" Carly shook her head no. "I want to always be your friend then. I'm not sure what I would do if wasn't your friend." He said.

"Well that's cool. I don't have to spend any money then." Carly said.

They laughed and Freddie closed the door.

Author's Note:

So there's the 1st chapter. Not too much happens. Next chapter will get more into it. This is just set up to establish that Freddie is kind of on edge. In Chapter 2 we see it really come out. This story will take them through New Years Day. I have a great Christmas episode of icarly planned and a great New Years Eve party planned too. Thanks for reading.


	2. iReally am Stressed

iCarly Christmas

iReally am Stressed

Freddie stood in the hallway at his locker looking through his history book one last time before the final he had in a couple of minutes. He looked up as Carly stood next to him to get her books.

"Hey Carly." He said closing his book accepting the fact that he knew what he knew and a few minutes wasn't going to change that.

"Hey Freddie." She said as she grabbed a book from her locker.

"Have you and Sam come up with good ideas for the iCarly Christmas special" Freddie asked.

She looked at him for a second with a puzzled look on her face. "What Christmas special?" She asked.

"The one that we are planning to air on Christmas Eve. You guys spent an hour or so yesterday coming up with ideas." Freddie said.

"What are you talking about Freddie? Sam and I haven't spoken in a couple of weeks. Don't you remember we quit doing iCarly?" Carly said.

"What do you mean we quit doing iCarly? We didn't quit. You guys made up." Freddie said. Carly looked at him with a blank expression.

"Remember? The window washer, the wind, you guys almost fell 14 stories down to the pavement? You saved each other and we got you inside? You guys hugged and made up?" Freddie asked wildly.

"Freddie I know you want Sam and I to be friends again but we aren't. We couldn't fix things. The only time I see Sam now is in class." Carly said rubbing his arm slightly and giving him a sympathetic look.

"What? This isn't right. I know you guys made up. I was there and I saw it happen." Freddie said. The bell rang and Carly started to head to class.

"You'd better get going Freddie. You are going to be late for that final." She said as she walked away.

Freddie stood there in the hallway as it cleared. He turned to head to class when he saw Sam walking lazily to her locker.

He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. "Freddie what are you doing?" She asked angrily.

"Please tell me you and Carly are still friends." He said.

"God this again? Freddie you need to let it go. We aren't friends anymore and we aren't doing iCarly anymore either. It's over." Sam said.

"I know this isn't right. We are all friends and we still do iCarly. We were planning a Christmas Special last night." Freddie said.

"You're late for your final Freddie." Sam said as she walked away. Freddie stood in the hallway trying to figure out what was going on when he sees Spencer on a unicycle.

"You're late for your final Freddie. Get going!" Spencer yelled at him.

________

Freddie woke with a start and looked around his dark room. He reached to his cell phone and saw that it was six in the morning. _An hour until I have to get up. I might as well get ready now._ He thought as he got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

Later that morning Carly and Sam were standing next to their lockers getting ready for their classes when Freddie approached them.

"You guys are friends right?" he asked. They both nodded yes. "And we are planning an iCarly Christmas Special right?" Freddie asked. Again they nodded yes.

"Yes!" Freddie said as he hugged both of them.

Carly and Sam looked at each other.  
"What up with him?" Sam asked.

"I have no idea." Carly said.

Freddie let them go and said, "I'll tell you after school. I have to get to my history final now." The three of them walked to their classes to take their finals.

____________

Carly, Sam and Freddie sat in her apartment after school. They were drinking juice and Freddie had his computer out.

"So how did that history final go, Freddie?" Carly asked.

"Good I think. I was worried because I woke up really early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep." He said clicking away on his computer.

"Yeah, what was that about this morning before class?" Sam asked.

"Did you forget the 14 story adventure we had?" Carly asked.

"No. I had this really weird dream last night where you and Sam didn't make up. You weren't friends and iCarly was finished. It was creepy. And then Spencer was riding a unicycle." Freddie said.

"That is pretty weird. You were probably just stressed about your final. Now it's done and we can get back to planning iCarly." Carly said.

"You worry too much about school. I didn't even finish studying for my math final and I don't feel worried at all." Sam said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Freddie said.

"Sam you promised you would study!' Carly said.

"Sorry, besides we have to make sure theses ideas for the Christmas special are going to work out." Sam said.

"You know iCarly isn't the most important thing." Carly said. Freddie and Sam looked at her. "I mean it's a large part of our lives but we do need to make sure we get out of high school eventually." She said.

The three of them sat on the couch going over sketch ideas when Spencer came into the apartment with a box under his arm. "Hey teens." He said as he closed the door.

"Hey." Carly said.

"Hi." Sam said.

"Hola senior Spencer." Freddie said.

"What are you guys doing?" Spencer asked.

"What we're always doing, planning iCarly and reminding Freddie that Carly will never date him." Sam said.

"Well, as long as you're not doing anything bad." Spencer said as he opened the box. He pulled out plastic parts and started to put them together.

"You got a plastic tree this year?" Carly asked.

"Well after the other ones kept catching fire I figured it was the responsible thing to do." Spencer said. "Plus I got lights!" He said as he held up a few boxes lights.

"Are those little reindeer lights?" Carly asked.

"Yeah! And they have little Santa hats and their noses light up!" Spencer said. Carly, Sam and Freddie laughed.

"You guys want to help me put the lights on?" Spencer asked.

"We're going upstairs to start rehearsing iCarly.' Carly said as she and Sam started to head to the stairs. "Coming Freddie?" Carly asked.

"I think I'll help Spencer put some lights on. I'll be up in a minute." Freddie said.

"Okay." Carly said.

"What ever helps you calm down after your academic freak out." Sam said.

Freddie stood and walked over to Spencer and grabbed a box of lights. He took them out. "These really do have Santa hats on them." Freddie said as he uncurled them.

"So why are you down here instead of upstairs with Carly and Sam working on iCarly? You really seem to be slacking lately Freddie." Spencer joked.

"I just need a little break from iCarly for a little bit. Now that school is almost over for the semester and I can stop worrying about finals I should be back to it again tomorrow. I had the weirdest dream last night where you were riding a unicycle. That's how stressed out I was."

"You mean you don't normally dream about me?" Spencer said faking hurt feelings.

"Not really. Hey can I ask you something?" Freddie said.

"Shoot!" Spencer said.

"What should I get Carly for Christmas? Has she mentioned anything she wants? That a guy without a job could afford?" Freddie asked.

"She loves build-a-bra." Spencer said. Then after a moment of silence Spencer said, "That might be kind of awkward. Forget I said that."

"Maybe I could get her a stuffed animal. That seems kind of childish though. But she's a girl. Girls like stuffed animals for ever, right?" Freddie said.

"You could always make her something. You are tech geek extraordinaire right?!" Spencer said giving Freddie a small punch on the arm.

"Yeah. Good idea Spencer." Freddie said as he dropped the Christmas lights and ran upstairs to join the girls in rehearsal.

"Thanks for the help!" Spencer yelled after him.

Upstairs Carly and Sam had both put on Santa suites and were doing a random dancing segment.

"Nice of you to join us Freddork." Sam said as her Santa hat fell from her head.

"Yeah, Yeah Puckett. I'm here now. Let's see how things look on the camera.

Carly and Sam continued to dance. They spent the next hour and half working thru the sketch ideas that they had come up with over the past two days.

"Okay so the cat sketch is definitely not going to work." Carly said.

"The Gibby sketch might work but we have to decide if we want him to be a reindeer or an elf." Sam said.

"The new backgrounds for the green screen are going to look great with this new program. We can actually make it look like snow is falling on you so we don't have to use paper anymore." Freddie said.

"Okay so I would call this rehearsal a success. I think we have all earned some fizzy cola's and cupcakes!" Carly said as she led them downstairs.

As the three of them came down the stairs they saw Spencer sitting next to the Christmas tree wrapped in lights.

"Help please." He said.

"How did that happen?" Carly said looking at Freddie.

"I don't know he was fine when I left him." Freddie said.

"Okay, well we should help him." Carly said.

Sam continued past Carly and Freddie into the kitchen and grabbed the cupcakes. "What? He's not going anywhere. No reason we shouldn't eat the cupcakes just because he is tangled in lights." Sam said.

Carly and Freddie walked over to Spencer and tried to untangle the lights.

"We need to find the start of one of these strands." Carly said.

Carly and Freddie walked around Spencer trying to find the start of the strands.

"I got it." Carly and Freddie said in unison. Freddie's hand was over Carly's as they held the start of the Christmas lights. The looked at each other for a second. Carly blushed and Freddie quickly removed his hand and took a step back and put his hands into his pockets. Spencer looked up at them.

"Can you start unwrapping me please?" Spencer said.

"Yeah." Carly said as she started to walk around Spencer with the lights untangling them from around him. When she was done Spencer stood up and yelled, "I'm free!" He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a cupcake.

"Okay. Well I'm gonna go home. See you tomorrow for the last day of school." Sam said as she headed for the door.

"See ya." Carly said.

"I should probably get going too. I have more studying to do." Freddie said.

"Yeah. I should get back to studying too." Carly said.

Carly and Freddie looked at each other for a moment longer when Sam grabbed Freddie from behind and said "See you tomorrow Carls." The two of them left the apartment.

Carly went into the kitchen and grabbed a cupcake. She stared at it.

"What you thinking abut kiddo?" Spencer asked.

"I don't know. The last day of school. The special we are planning. What to get my friends for Christmas. I have Sam's gift all ready but I have no idea what to get Freddie. What do boys like?"

"Water guns. Remote control cars. Circuses." Spencer said.

"What would _Freddie_ like?" Carly said.

"You know him better than I do. You guys have been friends for years. Is there anything that has special meaning for you two?" Spencer asked.

Carly thought about it for a minute. She got a big smile and said, "Yeah. Thanks Spencer." She put the cupcake down and ran up to her room.

"So, you're leaving me alone with the lights again? What if I get into trouble again? Carly?"

Authors Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone. I'm glad you guys like it. I promise it gets more Creddie as we go along. I hope you like this chapter too. Thanks for reading!


	3. iGo Christmas Shopping with Sam

iCarly Christmas

Chapter 3

iGo Christmas Shopping with Sam

Carly stood on the escalator with Sam watching the people move up on her left. She was with Sam trying to help her find something for her mom and for Freddie as well. She claimed that she didn't want to get him anything but when Carly suggested shopping today Sam jumped at the chance. Carly's still wondering if it was to get out of the house as much as it is to find gifts. The mall was decorated with a bunch of lights and wreaths and red bows. Carly thought it was almost too much.

"This mall went over board on the Christmas decorations." Sam said.

"I was just thinking that." Carly said as they got of the escalator. They looked around for a minute.

"Where should we go?" Carly asked.

"How about that store?" Sam said pointing in front of her. "It looks like it has stuff old people would like."

They entered the store and looked around. It was covered with little knick knacks and ceramic sculptures with cute sayings on them. There was a group of women near the front of the store fighting over a little figurine. Carly couldn't make out what it said on it but they were getting all fired up over it.

"Would your mom even like anything from this store?" Carly asked.

"She might. I don't know. That's why we have the whole day to go shopping. I haven't really thought about what to get for anyone. Oh! Did you I tell you that Melanie is coming home for Christmas? She'll be here for the week starting next Monday." Sam said as the two picked up various items and looked at them. They came to a rack of awful sweaters that had hearts on them.

"Seriously who would want that?" Sam said as she tugged at the sleeve.

"I'm not sure. Maybe we should move on. This store clearly doesn't have anything that your mom would like."

They left the store and walked around the mall for a little before coming to a technology store.

"I guess since we're here we could look for stuff for Freddie." Sam said as they walked into the store.

"I can't believe you are actually getting him something this year." Carly said.

"I got him something last year." Sam said.

"You slapped him in the face and said 'there's your gift, be glad I didn't hit you with my ham'." Carly said.

"He liked that gift." Sam said.

They started looking around the shelves at wires and DVD's and memory drives.

"I don't even know what most of this does. What if I get Freddie something he has or can't use? Then his gift is my wasted money." Sam said.

"You could get him a gift receipt to go with the gift. Then he could return it or exchange it. Anyway, you could get him DVD-R's. He said he wanted to start putting the shows on DVD." Carly said.

"I guess. What are you getting him?" Sam asked.

"Oh… I don't know yet.' Carly said looking away from Sam. She played with some cables that sat on the shelf in front of her.

"Well, I bet you could close your eyes and spin around and point at something and Freddie would think it's the best thing ever." Sam said.

"That's not true Sam. I know for a fact he has that." Carly said pointing at a laptop bag.

"My point is that it doesn't matter what you get him, he'll love it. You could make him a digital photo album and he would love it. I have to try a little harder to impress him."

"Why does it matter that Freddie like your gift so much? Last year you didn't care but this year you suddenly want to get him something that he'll actually like? What changed?" Carly asked.

Sam looked away. "Hey look over there." She said as she rushed past Carly to a section of various CD's and DVD's. "Aren't these the DVD's that you can print your own laser label on? Does Freddie's computer have that program?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure. We could check when we get home. I think Freddie and Spencer were decorating the apartment." Carly said.

"Well I could pick them up today and then return them if he doesn't have that program. Then I guess I could get that for him. He would like that right?" Sam said.

"Wow you are really putting effort into this. Now the hard part will be convincing Freddie that you aren't going to hit him again." Carly said.

"I just thought I'd try to be a better friend this year. He always spends a lot of time on our gifts. I kind of felt bad last year when after I hit him, he gave me that really nice CD holder." Sam said.

"Well yeah. What are the three of us getting Spencer this year?" Carly asked.

"We could get him that collection of super absorbent bath towels that he's been eyeing. Or that captain's outfit he wants for his boat. Or that new ball ping ratchet set." Sam said.

"I guess we should talk to Freddie about it. Want to get some lunch?" Carly said.

"Sure after I pay for these DVD's." Sam said as they walked to the counter. Sam paid and they went to the food court.

They sat down at a table near the center of the food court with their sandwiches and sodas.

"What are you getting Melanie for Christmas?" Carly asked Sam as she started to eat her sandwich.

"Ah I don't know. Something pink and girly probably." Sam said.

"You could get her a fancy new makeup and perfume set." Carly said.

"Yeah then she could wear it when she goes out with Freddie." Sam said laughing.

Carly forced a laugh and said, "Yeah but Freddie would just think it's you again. Then he'd get all freaked out and start thinking you like him." Carly said sipping her soda.

Sam said after a pause, "Yeah. Like I'd really fall for that nub."

They sat in silence for a moment. Carly heard her phone go off in her purse. She pulled it out and looked at it.

Hey Carly. How's it going?

Freddie B. 1:23 pm

Fine. Sam and I are eating lunch at the mall. Has Spencer set anything on fire yet?

Carly S. 1:25 pm

He stapled my shirt to the wall 3 times. Now he's looking for something to remove the heavy duty staples.

Freddie B. 1:30 pm

I told you Spencer was dangerous with Christmas lights. We should be getting back before dinner. Want to join us?

Carly S. 1:34 pm

Sure. I'll probably still be stuck here anyway. :)

Freddie B. 1:37 pm

"Who are you texting?" Sam asked.

"Freddie. Spencer stapled him to the wall." Carly said.

"Serves him right." Sam said.

"Why?" Carly said.

"I don't know. I kind of want to see him stuck to the wall." Sam said.

* * *

Carly and Sam entered Carly's apartment and saw Spencer standing in front of the kitchen wall with a hammer and a screw driver. They set their bags down near the couch and entered the kitchen to see Freddie with his eyes clenched shut as Spencer held the hammer in the air.

Carly runs over to him and grabs his arm, "What are you doing Spencer?!" she said.

"I'm trying to remove these staples from the wall!" He said.

"You do know there's a Freddie attached to the wall too?" Carly said.

"These are industrial strength staples though. A normal stapler remover won't work. This is the only way." Spencer said.

Sam stepped forward, "I agree with Spencer. It's the only way."

Carly and Freddie both yelled, "Sam!"

"Can you get out of your shirt?" Carly asked.

Freddie looked at her for a moment and grinned. "Are you asking me to take my shirt off?" He asked.

"Gross." Sam said.

"No one is taking their shirt off!" Spencer said.

"I can't rip the shirt. My mom will get mad and never let me come over again and then icarly will be ruined and Carly will be really mad at you Spencer." Freddie said.

"Fine. You can take your shirt off. I guess you see Gibby with his off all the time anyway." Spencer said.

Freddie stood there for a minute realizing that Carly and Sam are standing in front of him.

"We'll go upstairs and give you some privacy." Carly said. She and Sam headed upstairs.

"Is someone embarrassed to take his shirt off in front of Carly and Sam?" Spencer said poking Freddie in the arm. Freddie nodded. "Good never lose that shame. I'll go grab you one of my shirts to wear while we get this one unattached from the wall." Spencer said leaving for his bedroom.

Freddie maneuvered his way out of his shirt and stood in the kitchen waiting for Spencer.

"Are you ready?" Carly yelled down the stairs.

Freddie blushed even though she couldn't see him, "Just a minute. Spencer got lost in his room again." Freddie yelled up to her.

"Hurry up. Momma wants to go home." Sam yelled down.

Spencer walked back out of his room and handed Freddie a t-shirt that read "Pineapple Pizza" which Freddie put on as quickly as he could.

"Thanks. Okay. Everything's fine now." Freddie yelled up to Carly and Sam.

They both came back down and Sam walked to the door.

"Didn't you have bags with you?" Freddie asked.

"I did. I need to hide them here though or my mom and Melanie will find the gifts I got them." Sam said as she put on her coat and opened the door.

"Remember Sam we have rehearsal for the Christmas Special tomorrow afternoon. So try to get up before two." Carly said.

"Yeah. Yeah. Try to keep your clothes on Fredward. See you tomorrow Carles." Sam said as she left.

Carly and Freddie looked at each other.

"So Sam's 'twin' Melanie is back in town?" Freddie asked making air quotes around twin.

"Yeah. For the week." Carly said.

"This time I want to see them in the same room together. It's the only way I'm going to believe she actually has a twin." Freddie said.

"Okay. Are you going to tell your mom about your crazy Saturday with Spencer?" Carly said.

"Yeah. Then I'll tell her that my shirt has staple holes in it and then let her give me a flea dip." Freddie said.

"Got it!" Spencer yelled as he held Freddie's shirt in his hand. He put the hammer down and moved to where Carly and Freddie stood. They all heard a loud rip and looked at the shirt.

"Forget a staple?" Carly asked.

"Yeah." Spencer said. He handed the ripped shirt to Freddie. Freddie looked at the part of the sleeve that was still attached to the wall.

"I think I'm just going to leave this here." Freddie said putting it on the counter and sitting at the table. "What's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti tacos!" Spencer said.

"Great. I'm surprised that Sam didn't want to stay. She usually loves eating." Freddie said.

"Yeah. I guess she had to get home to get things ready for Melanie." Carly said.

The three of them had finished eating the spaghetti tacos and were cleaning up when Freddie said, "You know besides the shirt incident I think things came out pretty well with the lights and decorations. Not too over the top but still very Spencer."

"You haven't even seen the sculpture I created for Christmas morning." Spencer said.

"I can't wait." Carly said. She and Freddie moved to the couch and sat down.

"Want to watch a movie Freddie? It's only 7:30." Carly asked.

"Sure. It's not like I have far to go." Freddie said.

"Spencer? Movie?" Carly asked.

Freddie was mentally shaking his head "no" hoping that he would be able to watch it alone with Carly.

"I think I'm good. I'm kind of tired. I think I'll head to bed early. Freddie, don't stay too late. I don't want your mom to wake me up by yelling at me. I've had that nightmare too often." Spencer said.

"Sure." Freddie said.

"Goodnight guys." Spencer said as he walked to his room.

"So what should we watch?" Freddie asked.

"How about a _Charlie Brown Christmas_? It's a classic" Carly said as she put it into the DVD player and started it.

"Sure." Freddie said. A few minutes into the movie Freddie put his arm on the back of the couch behind Carly and she didn't move it out of the way like she usually did. They both sat comfortably watching the movie. Carly felt herself falling asleep and halfway through the movie she had fallen asleep next to Freddie. He looked over at her. He got up slowly and moved her onto the couch. He found a blanket from upstairs and put it over her. He shut the movie off and walked to the door. He took a look back at her and opened the door to leave to his apartment. "Good night Carly." He said as he entered the hallway and closed her door.

Authors note: I'm glad you like the story so far. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews everyone.


	4. iHelp Spencer

iCarly Christmas

Chapter 4

iHelp Spencer

Freddie knocked on Carly's door and opened it slowly. "Hello, anyone home?" He said.

"In here." Freddie heard Spencer yell from his bedroom as he entered the apartment and closed the door.

"I'm glad you're here. I could use the help. Come here." Spencer said.

Freddie walked to Spencer's bedroom and stopped short of entering. He had never been in Spencer's room. It felt kind of strange to actually be going in. He opened the door and stepped in. It wasn't what he was expecting especially since there was a large sheet hanging from the ceiling down to the floor that didn't actually let Freddie see any of Spencer's room.

"Spencer? Why is there a sheet just in front of the door?" Freddie asked.

"It's so you don't see what I'm making you guys for Christmas." Spencer said.

"You're making us a group gift?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah." Spencer said as he dropped something. "Ow. My foot!" He yelled out.

"If it's a group gift what do you need me to help with?" Freddie asked.

"I don't need help with this. I need help figuring out what to get Carly.  
Spencer said. Freddie heard movement from behind the sheet and a drill started up. He thought about it for a minute. He thought about what he was getting Carly and then realized he had forgotten something for Sam. Freddie cleared his head and said,

"Why don't you make her something?"

"Because. She's almost sixteen. I kind of want to get her something that she might be able to take out of the house." Spencer said.

"What do you mean Spencer? That smart purse you made her last year was awesome. Sure it locked up and she couldn't get her wallet out for a few weeks but it was still pretty cool." Freddie said.

"Yeah but people at school thought she was kind of a freak. At least that's what I heard her tell Sam." Spencer said.

"I'm sure she still loved the gift. High school kids are a little critical of fashion I guess." Freddie said.

"Yeah but I want her to have a normal gift. Especially since this gift for the three of you is so awesome!" Spencer said.

Freddie stood for a second looking at the sheet and reached for the edge and started to move it slowly to the right. Spencer slapped his hand from behind the curtain. "NO. Bad Freddie!" He said.

"Sorry. I promise I won't try it again." Freddie said. After a minute of standing listening to a drill Freddie reached for the curtain again. This time he was on the left side and started to open it. Spencer slapped his hand again. "Go wait outside. I'll be out in a minute!" Spencer said.

"Fine." Freddie said as he left the room.

After a minute of sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on TV Spencer came from his room and sat next to Freddie.

"I can't believe you tried to see what I was making you for Christmas. I would expect that from Sam. Any ideas of what I should get Carly that she could take to school and show off to all the fashionistas at school?" Spencer said.

"I don't know. A necklace? Clothes? Music for her PearPod?" Freddie said.

"I guess I could get her a necklace. She got me those light up socks last year." Spencer said.

"Yeah. That sounds good." Freddie said. "Do you know where Carly is? I was going to work on some show stuff."

"She went to the movies with Sam and Melanie." Spencer said. "She didn't tell you she was doing that?"

"No. I guess she didn't want me to give her more smart comments about how Sam and Melanie are the same person. She gets kind of mad at me when I do that." Freddie said.

"Well they should be back soon. If you want to go up and work on stuff you can. Just promise that you won't try to look at the gift I'm making? Because you'll feel really bad for ruining the surprise." Spencer said.

"I promise. I'll be upstairs when Carly and Sam get here." Freddie said as he jumped off the couch and went upstairs to the studio.

Freddie was upstairs working on his laptop and listening to his PearPod. He was singing along to a song:

_I know everything changes, I don't care where it takes us, cause I know, how I feel about you now. _

Freddie didn't notice that someone had come up behind him while he was working on the computer. They put their hands over his eyes. He immediately stopped singing and turned around.

"Sam? What are you doing?" Freddie almost yelled at her.

"Freddie I'm Melanie. Sam's sister." Melanie said.

"Oh. Right. Wait why haven't you made fun of me for singing to that pop song?" Freddie asked.

"Because I'm Melanie and it was cute." Melanie said.

"Okay." Freddie said. "So are Carly and Sam here?" He asked.

"Yeah their downstairs getting something to eat." Melanie said.

"Cool." Freddie said putting his hands into his pockets.

"So are you and Sam dating yet?" Melanie asked.

"What?" Freddie asked? "Why would Sam and I be dating?"

"You too have such amazing chemistry." Melanie said.

"Okay now I know it's you Sam. Come on, quit playing around. You know I'm in love with Carly. Nothing's going to change that." Freddie said.

"You can think I'm Sam but I'm not and she kept talking about you all day. Carly barely said two words about you. That's all I'm saying." Melanie said as she turned and headed for the door. "We should probably meet them downstairs." Melanie said as she left.

Freddie stared after her for a minute taking in what she had just said. He put it out of his head as he walked down the stairs into the kitchen. Carly was standing their by herself drinking a cola.

"Hi." She said giving him a small wave.

"Hi. How convenient that Sam and Melanie are gone." Freddie said.

"They had to get home. Sam's mom kind of flooded the bathroom." Carly said.

"So why would they want to go home to that?" Freddie asked.

"They have to try and save Sam's CD collection." Carly said.

"Yeah. So what movie did you guys see?" Freddie asked taking a seat next to her at the table.

"We saw that movie with the talking animals." Carly said.

"Was it any good?" Freddie asked.

"Kind of. It was probably better than that teen movie that was out." Carly said.

"Cool. Want to hear what I did this afternoon?" Freddie said.

"Sure." Carly said.

Freddie grabbed her by the hand and led her to the computer. "Okay, this is the iCarly website now right?" He said bringing up the home page. "Well, this is what I designed for the Christmas special." He said as he clicked on another page. It was decked out in red and green with Christmas lights all around the video player and the side bars that listed the blogs and pictures.

"Cool. It looks great." Carly said. They heard a loud crash come from Spencer's bedroom and the both rushed over to his closed door.

"Spencer are you okay?" Carly yelled.

"Yes. Don't come in!" He yelled back.

"Are you sure Spencer? It sounded like it hurt." Freddie said.

"I'm sure! Everything is fine. Why don't you two go upstairs alone for a little while?" Spencer yelled at them.

"Okay." They said together as they turned and headed to the stairs. They heard another thud as they disappeared upstairs.

"That was weird." Carly said.

"He's working on a super secret Christmas gift." Freddie said.

"Wow." Carly said as she sat down on a beanbag chair. "Hopefully he doesn't kill himself finishing it"

Freddie sat down on a chair next to her and asked, "What happened to your necklace?"

"Oh. It broke at the theater today. It got caught on the door and ripped clear off." Carly said.

"That sucks. Would it be something that you would want replaced?" Freddie asked.

"Maybe." Carly said in a funny voice with a funny look in Freddie's direction. "Are you trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas?"

"Maybe" Freddie said raising his eyebrows at her. She laughed a little and stretched. "So, Melanie said that Sam was pretty chatty today. Did she talk about anything besides food?" Freddie asked.

"Not really. I mean she kept making fun of you but it was just normal Sam stuff. She was kind of hopped up on candy at the movie. And Melanie kept going on about how much she likes you. I'm glad she lives in another state." Carly said.

Freddie looked over at her and said, "Really? Why's that?"

"Oh, well I mean it would be really weird for all of us to have you dating a girl that looks so much like Sam." Carly said. Freddie's face fell a little.

"Oh. That would be awkward." Freddie said.

They sat in silence for a little while, "I really liked watching that movie with you." Carly said.

Freddie gave a big smile and said, "Me too." Freddie took out his phone and sent a message to Spencer, "Get Carly a new necklace."

"What are you doing?" Carly asked.

"Nothing." Freddie said.

"Fine. Want to watch some user videos from iCarly?" Carly asked.

"Not really. I kind of want to take a nap." Freddie said.

"Right here?" Carly asked.

"Why not? Spencer told us to go away for a while."

"I don't think he meant we should come up here and sleep on beanbag chairs." Carly said.

"You don't have to take a nap. I'm going to though." Freddie said.

"Setting up that new home page really wore you out at 2 in the afternoon?" Carly said.

"Yes. It's hard work and I don't really want to go home to my mom." Freddie said.

"Fine. Could I put a movie on while you sleep?" Carly said.

"Sure." Freddie said as his phone beeped. He picked it up and looked at the text message.

Sam P. 2:05 pm

Meet me on the fire escape at 6pm. Don't tell Carly.

Authors Note: Thanks for reading everyone. I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for the reviews and I hope to have another chapter up in the next couple of days.


	5. iSam

iCarly Christmas

Chapter 5

iSam

Previously:

Sam P. 2:05 pm

Meet me on the fire escape at 6pm. Don't tell Carly.

Sam stood on the fire escape at 5:55 pm waiting for Freddie to show up. She couldn't believe she was going to keep this from Carly especially when she got so mad over not being told about Freddie and her kissing. It kind of struck Sam as odd that Carly didn't get mad over Freddie kissing her. Carly was just mad that she wasn't told. The guy's in love with her and she doesn't get mad that he kissed someone else. She must really not think of Freddie as boyfriend material. Too bad that's what I have to talk to him about. Someone that's not Carly does think he's boyfriend worthy and I need to put an end to it before it starts. It would just screw things up too much. Sam stood on the fire escape impatiently waiting for Freddie. "Come on dork." She said to herself.

Freddie walked to the window and looked out at Sam. "What's up Puckett?" He said.

"I'm glad you're here." Sam said as she walked to Freddie and pulled him out on to the fire escape.

"What's up? And why wasn't I supposed to tell Carly that I was meeting you here?" Freddie asked.

"You told her you were meeting me didn't you?" Sam asked. Freddie nodded 'yes' and Sam said, "Dude, why would you do that when I told you not to?"

"Do I really need to say why again?" Freddie asked.

Sam groaned, "Fine. So she knows we're meeting and she didn't want to come along?"

"I told her we were meeting to discuss what you were getting her for Christmas." Freddie said.

"I'm surprised she would fall for that .I got her present a month ago." Sam said.

"What? Why would you get Carly a Christmas gift a month early? That's not like you." Freddie said.

"I happened to be at the right place to get something really cool that she wants that I wouldn't normally be able to afford." Sam said.

"So you stole her gift?" Freddie said a little confused but not shocked.

"I didn't steal it. I was able to make a good deal for it." Sam said.

"Right. So what are we doing out here in the cold?" Freddie said.

"Okay so I need to tell you something. You now how we kissed right? And then Carly got mad that we didn't tell her but she asked us if we liked it?"

"Yeah." Freddie said.

"Well, I kind of…" Sam said as she trailed off.

"You kind of… what? Liked it?" Freddie said smirking.

Sam smacked him across the face. "I didn't like it. I don't want to date you. Melanie does though." Sam said.

"Yeah we knew that. Carly even mentioned it earlier. She said it would be weird for me to date Melanie though. I agree for obvious reasons." Freddie said.

"Melanie's coming over tomorrow to watch us rehearse for the Christmas special and I want you to tell her you don't want to date her."

"Great. Is that all?" Freddie said.

"Yeah that's it." Sam said as Freddie started to turn away. "Wait one more thing." Sam said. As Freddie turned around Sam slapped him in the face again.

Sam and Melanie entered Carly's apartment the next morning. Carly was brushing her hair as she checked her email and Spencer was in the kitchen making pancakes.

"Who wants pancakes?" Spencer asked as they came into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Awesome." Sam said.

"Thanks for having us over for breakfast." Melanie said.

"No problem. I know today's a big day rehearsing for the big show on Friday." Spencer said. "I want you guys to have energy."

"Spencer was up at seven. He has a lot of energy today for some reason." Carly said. "Too much energy. He's made like 30 pancakes all ready."

"Will Freddie be joining us?" Melanie asked.

Sam looked over at Carly and saw her brushing her hair looking away. "I don't know. Is he Spencer?"

"I texted him last night." Spencer said.

"I'll go see if he's up yet." Sam said as she got up and went into the hallway.

Carly sat at the computer brushing her hair. Melanie sat at the table.

"I'm really excited to see the show." Melanie said.

"We're really excited to have you watch the rehearsal. We want it to go well." Carly said.

"Does Freddie have any skits in the show?" Melanie asked.

"He has one near the end. He'll be really busy with the tech side of it. It's very graphics heavy." Carly said.

"Cool. So I can hang out with him behind the camera and watch from there." Melanie said.

"Yeah that would work. As long as you don't get in his way. He has a lot to worry about during the show." Carly said.

They sat silent while Spencer flipped pancakes near the stove.

In the hallway Sam knocked on Freddie's door. After a minute his mom answered.

"Yes Sam." She said.

"Is Freddie up? We have rehearsal in an hour." Sam said.

"He's in the bathroom flossing again." Ms. Benson said.

"Why is he flossing again?" Sam asked.

"He has to use his special floss after the normal kind." Ms. Benson said.

Sam looked at her for a minute as Freddie came into the living room behind his mom.

"Mom I'll be at Carly's today. We're getting the Christmas show ready." Freddie said.

"Make sure you don't hurt yourself. You guys do some dangerous skits on that show." Ms. Benson said.

"I'm not going to get hurt. We've been doing the show for a while and I've never been hurt. Unless you count Sam hitting me." Freddie said.

"I just don't want you to be a hero if something goes wrong. There's no reason for you to save anyone's life." Ms. Benson said.

"I'll be home later." Freddie said.

"Be careful." Ms. Benson said as she closed the door leaving Freddie and Sam together in the hall.

"You're mom is a freak." Sam said.

"Yeah. She's getting better. Kind of. I think me moving out freaked her out." Freddie said.

"Sure. You moving out would freak me out too. Okay, Melanie is in there. Remember today you are telling her that you don't want to date her." Sam said.

"Yeah I know." Freddie said as they both reentered Carly and Spencer's apartment.

The four of them were finishing their pancakes when Spencer said, "Okay who wants to help me clean up?"

"We really need to get rehearsing. It's going to take all day." Carly said as she, Freddie, Sam, and Melanie all got up and ran upstairs.

After a few hours of rehearsing Carly, Sam, and Freddie took a break.

"I think this is going to turn out great. It's a good thing we are rehearsing the reindeer sketch. It's going to need to be cut down a little." Carly said.

"Yeah and I want more time for the talking bra segment. I think that's going to be a big hit." Sam said.

Freddie was editing some audio for the show when Melanie came up behind him.

"Do you want to hang out after this?" She asked.

"I don't think I'll have time. I still have to get the audio and graphics synced up." Freddie said.

Sam saw Carly getting uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why though. Maybe it was seeing someone hit on Freddie. "Hey Melanie what did you think?" Sam asked.

"It was really funny." She said. "I think Freddie did a great job with the tech stuff. I mean it really wouldn't have worked out if he wasn't so talented."

"It's a group effort and Carly and Sam are the ones who make it funny." Freddie said.

"Yeah but it wouldn't look as cool if you didn't do your part." Melanie said playing with his hair.

Sam saw him get uncomfortable. "Melanie, I don't want to date you." He blurted out. "I mean, you're nice and it's good to know that you and Sam are different people but it is too weird and I love Carly. " Freddie said.

"Right. Why be with someone that actually wants to be with you when you can spend all your time hoping someone who doesn't like you might one day." Melanie said.

Sam saw Carly tense.

"You live in another state. I'd rather be friends with someone who I can see everyday than date someone who I can't see for months at a time just to say I'm dating them." Freddie said.

"We don't have to date. We could just make out. That's more than you would ever get to do with Carly anyway." Melanie said.

"Melanie!" Sam said. She grabbed her by the arm and said, "I'm going to take Melanie home. We still have water damage to clean up." Sam said. They left and Carly and Freddie stood alone in the studio.

Freddie went back to his laptop. "Melanie seems to be a little lonely this holiday season." Freddie said. He looked at Carly awkwardly. She just stood there. "It's the holidays and people get lonely. Plus there's that water damage…"

Freddie was cut off as Carly stepped forward quickly and kissed him. Freddie was stunned and tentatively kissed her back.

**Author's note**: Thanks for reading this new chapter everyone. Sorry if Melanie sounded kind of out of character. I wasn't really sure how to make her act. She was only in one episode and she seemed nice but I thought maybe she might have a hard time getting over Freddie. Who wouldn't right? I wanted to have a chapter from Sam's point of view because I felt like I was neglecting her character a little. Tell me what you think of it. Thanks for the reviews. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up tomorrow or the next day.


	6. iKissed Freddie

iCarly Christmas

Chapter 6

iKissed Freddie

Carly couldn't believe what she was doing. She was kissing Freddie. She was actually kissing him. All these years he had wanted her to and she never had but she was doing it now in the studio where they had filmed every icarly episode. Freddie was kissing her back. He had put his arm around her waist. This seemed to be going on for a while and Carly pulled away.

"Freddie, we can't do this." She said.

"I'm sorry." Freddie said quickly stepping back from her. Carly felt bad for him. She knew this is what he wanted but she couldn't do it for this reason. She couldn't kiss him just because she was mad at Melanie for saying that she would never like Freddie back. She couldn't stand having Freddie believe that. She didn't want to lose that sense of safety she felt knowing he would always love her.

"You know Carly I could probably finish this editing up at my apartment. I don't have to stay here if you don't want me to." Freddie said nervously unhooking cords.

"Freddie you should stay. This is part your studio too." Carly said.

"I'm sorry. I know that. I'm just kind of confused. We just kissed. You just kissed me." Freddie said.

"I know." Carly said.

They stood in silence.

"Should we talk about this?" Freddie asked. "I mean if we are we should do it before Sam gets back."

"Ummm... Sure. We can talk about it. I mean we're best friends there's no reason we shouldn't talk about it." Carly said nervously moving from foot to foot.

"Well, did, did you like it?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah. It was nice." Carly said.

"Better than Griffin?" Freddie asked.

"Well, I mean we weren't trying like Griffin and I were. I kind of snuck up on you." Carly said.

"Do you want to try one that's real? Just to compare?" Freddie asked.

"I don't want to compare you to some other guy Freddie. You're my best friend. You're the greatest guy I know next to Spencer and I don't want to compare your kiss to someone else's." Carly said.

"So we can't try one for real?" Freddie asked with a small laugh.

Carly laughed a little too and the tension seemed to be clearing. She didn't know what to do now. Freddie stood there and she looked at him in a different way. He wasn't just tech guy anymore. He was a really cute guy that she spent most of her time with. How had she not noticed how cute he was? How had she not noticed that he was always there for her and that he was the guy that would be honest with her about anything?

Except that he kissed Sam.

"What's wrong Carly?" Freddie asked noting the look of concern that was on her face.

"Nothing, it's just hitting me that we kissed. We have to tell Sam." Carly said.

"We have to tell her right now?" Freddie asked.

"You want to keep it a secret?" Carly asked getting a little flustered.

"What? No, I just don't know what this means. I don't really have it figured out yet." Freddie said. "I mean shouldn't we have it figured out before we tell Sam?"

"Why does this have to mean something? Couldn't it just be a kiss like you had with Sam?" Carly asked.

"It means something because it's you Carly. I've loved you for three years and then you kiss me. That means something to me. When I kissed Sam it was just to do it to get it out of the way." Freddie said. "Was it just a kiss for you?"

"I don't know. I don't know why I did it. I mean Melanie was saying stuff like I'd never love you and you were looking so hurt." Carly said.

"You kissed me to prove Melanie wrong?" Freddie said.

"I don't know why I kissed you Freddie." Carly said.

"I mean if it was just a kiss that's fine. At least I know there's still hope. That's a starting place right?" Freddie said with that hopeful smile of his.

Carly couldn't look him in the eyes. He was so hopeful and she didn't want to hurt him. She knew it would kill him if she told him it was just a kiss. If she told him she did it just to make her self feel like she still had him in case she needed him he would see that she was using him. She felt like she was stringing him along if she didn't start dating him or at least give him a sense that there was hope. Could she see herself dating Freddie in the future though? She wasn't ready to deal with thinking about Freddie like this.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink, okay?" Carly said. "Promise you'll stay here and work on the show?"

"Sure." Freddie said as he watched her leave the studio.

Downstairs Carly went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of juice. She stood in the kitchen staring at the fridge door.

"Hey Carly. How'd rehearsal go?" Spencer asked behind her as he came into the living room.

"I kissed Freddie." Carly said.

"What?!?!" Spencer yelled.

"Shhhh… I kissed Freddie and I don't know what to do now." Carly said.

"What happened? Are you dating now? Did you finally realize you like him? Was it a dare from Sam?" Spencer asked.

"Melanie wanted Freddie to date her and she told him that I would never love him and he was so hurt and I couldn't take the thought that he might stop having feelings for me." Carly said. "I'm a horrible person." Carly said.

"You're not horrible. We all like knowing that someone likes us. It makes us feel wanted." Spencer said. "There's nothing wrong with wanting him to like you."

"There's something wrong with me not being sure if I like him back though." Carly said.

"If you're not ready to take things farther with Freddie then you should be honest with him." Spencer said.

"How long will he wait?" Carly said.

"He's waited three years. He's a very patient person." Spencer said.

"He won't wait forever Spencer. How long until someone comes along that's like me that will go out with him?" Carly asked.

"That is never gonna happen. There's only one Carly Shay." Spencer said giving her a hug.

"Thanks Spencer. Do you think Freddie and I would be a good couple?" Carly asked.

"I've always liked Freddie. I've never understood why you haven't given it a shot. At least you know he doesn't collect peewee babies." Spencer said.

"I couldn't take it if we broke up. We'd still have to do the show. It'd make it awkward for Sam too." Freddie said.

"You shouldn't worry about breaking up. You aren't even dating yet. I think you should just figure out what the kiss means." Spencer said.

Carly took a sip of her juice and then headed back up to the studio. She stood in the hallway looking into the studio. Freddie was concentrating on the laptop. She walked into the studio and said, "Have I ever told you how much I appreciate what you do for the show?"

"Yeah, all the time." Freddie said. "If we could only get Sam on board it'd be a good day."

"So I was thinking about the kiss." Carly said.

Freddie stopped working on the laptop and looked her in the eyes, "And?" He said.

"I think it was just a kiss. I think I just didn't want you to feel bad." Carly said.

"Sure." Freddie said. "It was nice though. I mean, like if at New Years Eve you need someone to kiss at midnight I wouldn't say no."

"I know." Carly said. Her phone went off and she checked it. There was a text message.

**Griffin: **

** Are we still on for New Years Eve? 6:09 pm **

"Hey Carly?" Freddie asked. She turned around. "I know this time it was just a kiss but do you think we'll ever be anything more? Maybe when we're older?"

"I don't know. I think what we have now is good. We'll just have to wait and see." Carly said.

Freddie nodded. "I think I'm about done." He said as he turned for the door. Freddie and Carly walked down stairs and saw Spencer on the couch watching TV.

"I'll see you tomorrow Carly. If Sam calls tell her we'll need to get new audio for that elf segment." Freddie said.

Spencer jumped off the couch. I'll walk you out." He said to Freddie as they both went to the hallway.

"Did you and Carly talk?" Spencer asked.

"She told you about the kiss?" Freddie asked.

"I'm her big brother and it's kind of huge news." Spencer said.

"She was trying to make me feel better." Freddie said.

"Did it work?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah it did. I know it was just a kiss but it gives me new hope." Freddie said.

"For what it's worth I think she should be with you. I think it's stupid that she invited Griffin to the New Year's Eve party." After a pause, "Don't tell her I said that." Spencer said.

"Yeah. Have a good night Spencer." Freddie said.

"You knew that she had invited Griffin to the New Year's Eve party right?" Spencer asked.

After a moment, "Yeah. Of course. We're best friends. She tells me everything." Freddie said.

"Good night Freddie." Spencer said.

Freddie entered his apartment and went to his bedroom. He took his shoes off and crawled into bed. He looked to his desk and saw a picture of Carly, Sam and himself. It seemed like so long ago when they took it for the first episode of iCarly. He wondered how long he could really go on waiting for Carly.


	7. iGo Live with a Confused Heart

iCarly Christmas

Chapter 7

iGo Live With a Confused Heart

Carly and Sam sat in Carly's apartment going over their notes for the Christmas show. They could hear Spencer working on a sculpture in his bedroom.

"Should we go upstairs?" Carly said loudly to Sam.

"Why?" she asked.

"Ummm, because of the loud drill." Carly said as she pointed in the direction of Spencer's room.

"It doesn't really bother me. We've had plumbers in the house the last couple of days working on the plumbing problem. You want to talk about people being loud." Sam said.

"Okay, well it bothers me. Let's go upstairs." Carly said as she started to get up from the couch.

"Aren't we waiting for Freddward?" Sam asked.

"Oh, yeah. Who knows when he'll be here?" Carly said looking at the papers in her hands.

"Didn't he say he would be here at 6:30? It's almost that time." Sam said checking her cell phone.

"Oh, well we could wait for him I guess. Spencer!" Carly yelled.

Spencer came out of his bedroom holding a drill and put his goggles on top of his head. "Yeah. What's up?" He asked.

"Could you stop with the drilling for a little?' Carly said as she waved her papers around.

"Sure. I'm sorry." Spencer said with a sad look on his face. "I'm just putting the finishing touches on your Christmas gift." He said as he moved the drill from hand to hand.

"What's wrong Carly? You've been kind of on edge the past couple of days." Sam said.

"No I haven't." Carly snapped. Sam and Spencer looked at her with shocked looks.

"Well, since I'm taking a break from drilling I might as well get something to eat. Do you guys want anything?" Spencer asked as he put the drill down on the table next to the couch and walked to the kitchen.

"No. I'm fine." Sam said.

"Carly?" Spencer asked.

"No. Thank you. I'm fine. Sorry for being so snappy." She said.

"What's going on with you Carles?" Sam asked looking her in the eyes.

"It's nothing. Just, I don't know." Carly said.

"Well is it about the show? Are you nervous? Is it about the New Years Eve party? Are you regretting asking Griffin?" Sam asked.

"It's nothing really." Carly said.

"It's something. Remember we said that we would tell each other everything from now on? No secrets. Obviously something's wrong. What's going on?" Sam asked more earnestly this time.

Carly looked at Spencer. She couldn't figure out how to tell Sam that she kissed Freddie. It wasn't like she did that every day. She couldn't figure out how to tell Sam that she felt like crying because Freddie hadn't spoken to her in the past couple of days. She couldn't figure out how to tell Sam that she didn't feel like putting on a happy face and doing the Christmas show.

Spencer interrupted her thoughts, "I made a few extra sandwiches just in case you guys get hungry. If you want to head up to the studio and start getting ready I can tell Freddie you're up there."

"That'd be good." Sam said. She took the plate of sandwiches and led Carly upstairs.

Once they were in the studio Sam closed the door and she and Carly sat on beanbag chairs.

"Okay, Carly. Spill. What's going on?" Sam asked.

"There's just a lot going on. The show is tonight and then there's Christmas tomorrow and then New Years. It's too much. I thought we were supposed to be on break?" She said.

"We're ready for the show. Christmas and New Years are just parties. Are you sure there isn't something else?" Sam said.

Carly started to cry a little. Sam looked worried. "What's wrong?" she said.

"I kissed Freddie a couple of days ago and now he won't talk to me. I've tried calling him and texting him. I went to his apartment but he won't answer. His mom told me yesterday that he was taking a flea bath!" Carly said as tears fell down her face.

"I'm gonna handle this." Sam said as she got up.

"What do you mean? What are you going to do Sam?" Carly said.

"Leave it all to me." Sam said as she went downstairs. She rushed down the stairs and ran into Freddie who was heading up to the studio. He fell backwards down the stairs. Sam stumbled but didn't fall. She marched down the stairs and pinned Freddie's arms to the ground.

"What are you doing Sam?" He yelled at her.

"What are you doing to Carly?" Sam asked.

"I'm not doing anything to Carly." Freddie said as he struggled to break free from her grasp. She was stronger than Carly.

"You haven't talked to her in a few days. That's doing something to her." Sam said.

"Let me up and we can talk about this Sam." Freddie said. She let him up and they stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"So you two kissed and now you're not talking to Carly? That's jank and you know it" Sam said.

"It's complicated." Freddie said.

"Not really. You two kissed and she doesn't want to take it further and stopped talking to her." Sam said.

"It's not just that she doesn't want to date me Sam. I mean, she kissed me and I thought for a second there was hope. Then I find out she invited Griffin to New Years Eve." Freddie said.

"I know this is hard for you Freddie but she doesn't want to date you. She does want to be your friend though." Sam said. "She needs you for iCarly too. As much as I hate to admit it, this show doesn't work without you."

"I know. I'm gonna go talk to her." Freddie said as he went up the stairs. Sam followed him and they both entered the studio to find Carly setting up the camera. Sam noticed she had wiped the tears from her face.

"Hey guys." She said. "We should get things set up. We go live in 10 minutes."

"Can we talk in the hall Carly?" Freddie asked.

"Sure." She said. They both walked to the hall and Freddie closed the door.

"So, I've been kind of hard to get in touch with." Freddie said.

"Yeah." Carly said.

"I'm sorry about that. I know this wasn't the best time to stop communicating with the Christmas show and everything." Freddie said.

"Do you know how bad it hurt me that you just stopped talking to me? That you just stopped being my friend?" Carly said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you but I was really mad that you didn't tell me about Griffin." Freddie said.

"Are you going to do this every time I go out with a guy now just because we kissed?" Carly said.

"No! I just… I just was taken back by the fact that Griffin was going to be at the New Year's Eve party.' Freddie said.

"Why? Because you wanted to be my date?" Carly asked.

"What if I did? I asked you last week and you laughed it off. Like you always do, Carly. How long do you expect me to wait for you Carly?" Freddie said.

"I never asked you to wait for me!" Carly said.

"No. But you're okay with me being the back up for 'some day'. How long am I supposed to wait Carly?" Freddie asked.

"Just until we decide to not do iCarly anymore. Then you won't have to be friends with me out of obligation to the show!" Carly said.

Sam poked her head out of the door, "Guys we go live in 2 minutes." Carly and Freddie looked at each other in the eyes while Sam went to get ready.

"I'll always be your friend Carly. I was your friend before iCarly and I'll be your friend after iCarly. I do the show because I want to, not because I have to." Freddie said. "I'm just getting tired of waiting for you to see that I'm perfect for you." Freddie said as he opened the studio door and entered. Carly followed and took her place next to Sam.

"Okay, Christmas show spectacular in 5, 4, 3, 2..." Freddie said as he held the camera.

"Happy Holidays!" Carly and Sam said together. Carly forced a smile and tried to remember her lines while having to look at Freddie holding the camera.


	8. iCelebrate Christmas

iCarly Christmas

Chapter 8

iCelebrate Christmas

"And we're clear. Great show everyone. Thanks for helping out Gibby." Freddie said as he turned off the camera and started updating the website. He quickly moved new photos and video onto the site with the ease of someone who has been doing it for the past three years. He worked quickly so he would be able to get to the Christmas party downstairs that Spencer had planned. Spencer was going to unveil the sculpture he had built for them and they were going to exchange gifts. Freddie was looking forward to giving Carly her gift last night but now he wasn't so sure. He admired her for getting through the show so well. She wouldn't let the fans down. His curiosity over what Spencer made was starting to get to him also.

Carly watched Freddie typing away on the computer and she wondered if he was still mad. She couldn't tell if he was mad or not during the show because he looked to be concentrating really hard on all of the tech stuff that needed to be done. It was a more tech heavy show than normal. They used a lot of special effects and camera tricks for the Christmas show to make it really special for the audience. She was glad that Freddie was able to make everything look as good as it did.

"Hey Freddie? Can I talk to you" She said as she stepped forward towards him.

"Sure." He said as he closed his laptop. He was done updating the most important parts of the site.

"Do you guys want us to leave?" Gibby asked.

Carly turned around and looked at him and Sam. She almost forgot they were there. "Umm…"

"Let's go." Sam said as she pulled Gibby to the door. "We'll be downstairs."

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Freddie asked.

"I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier about you just being here to be close to me. I know you do the show because you want to." Carly said. "I mean, you put in like three times more work tonight than I did and a good nine times more than Sam." Carly said with a small smile and laugh.

Freddie smiled at that. He still thought she was the most beautiful girl he knew. "I'm sorry I got mad at you. I guess I'm on edge with the holidays and spending so much time with my mom."

"I just want you to know that I really care about our friendship. I guess I just don't get why you keep holding out for me." Carly said.

"Because I love you." Freddie said with a smile. "I really care about our friendship too. I guess I'm just getting impatient as I get older."

"Because we're getting so old." Carly said. After a pause, "Does it bother you that Griffin is going to be here for the New Years Eve party?" Carly asked.

"I would be lying if I said no. I guess I just thought this year I'd be the one to kiss you at midnight." Freddie said.

They stood looking at each other for a moment. Spencer barged thru the door and interrupted the silence. "Hey guys, we're ready downstairs. Come on!"

They followed Spencer downstairs and saw a large sculpture under a white tarp. Carly and Freddie looked at each other as they moved around it and joined Sam on the couch.

"Okay! We have cookies and eggnog and milk and candy canes! We're ready to have the best Christmas ever!" Spencer said excitedly clapping his hands together.

"Did Gibby's mom come and get him" Carly asked.

"She was on her way when I pushed him out the door." Sam said.

"Is he just waiting in the hallway?" Freddie asked.

"Gibby?" Sam yelled. There was no answer. "I guess not."

"So what are we starting with?" Carly asked.

"I thought we'd start with this huge sculpture here!" Spencer said. "And then Freddie can help me get it upstairs."

"Why don't you just take the elevator?" Freddie asked.

"It's broken and the repair person is gone until next week!" Spencer said.

"Great. So what is it?" Freddie asked.

"Okay, are you guys excited? Everyone count with me, 5,4,3,2,1. Dun Dun Dun Dun!' Spencer said as he threw the tarp off the sculpture. Carly, Sam, and Freddie looked at the large sculpture in front of them. It was a large iCarly sign that lit up with multi colored lights.

"Cool. How does it stay lit?" Freddie asked.

"It takes 120 D size Batteries." Spencer said.

"Wow. That'll look great in the studio." Sam said.

"That's awesome. Thanks Spencer." Carly said.

"Sure thing. I'm glad you guys like it." Spencer said. "Come on Freddie help me get it up the stairs."

"Okay." Freddie said as he went to the opposite side of Spencer and grabbed onto the large iCarly sign. The two of then lifted it up the stairs. Freddie almost lost his grip but he regained it before the sculpture crushed him.

Carly and Sam sat alone on the couch.

"So, Carly. What's going on with you and Freddie?" Sam asked.

"Nothing."

"Really? Things seemed pretty tense up there during the show."

"We got mad at each other because he wants to date me but I don't want to date him and I'm bringing Griffin to the party on new years. We talked about it and things are fine now." Carly said.

"You sure? You know he's never gonna give up on you. It's not like he'd even see if someone else liked him anyway." Sam said.

"We know where we stand. I know how I feel about him and he knows it too. We're cool with being friends." Carly said.

Upstairs Spencer and Freddie were putting the sculpture down in the studio next to the stairs.

"That was a heavy sculpture." Freddie said.

"Yeah. I've got a confession." Spencer said holding his hands to his mouth and grinning. "The elevator works fine."

"So why did we have to lug that thing up the stairs?" Freddie said.

"I wanted to talk to you about Carly." Spencer said.

"There's nothing to talk about. We're fine." Freddie said.

"So she wants to date you?"

"No."

"So you are giving up on her?"

"No."

"So how are either of you fine?"

"We decided we'd rather be friends than be divided over our differing feelings for each other."

"So you are back to where you were? How does that make you happy?"

"It makes me happier to have her as a friend than to not have her at all. Plus we're young. There's no need to rush into anything. Do you really want to come home and see Carly and I making out?"

"I'd be cool with it I think. I'd be more worried about your mom finding you two together."

"You get all freaked out when Carly kisses other guys but you'd be okay with me kissing her?"

"Well, yeah. I know you. I know you would never hurt her." Spencer said as he wrapped his arm around Freddie's shoulder and led him to the elevator. "Let's get back downstairs. We have more gifts to open."

Freddie and Spencer rejoined Carly and Sam downstairs.

"Okay, let's exchange gifts. Freddie and Sam here you go. Carly here's yours." Spencer said as he handed each of them a gift. They opened their gifts.

Sam had a gift card to "Ham and Stuff" "Thanks Spencer."

Freddie opened a small box and found a flash drive sitting inside. "Thanks."

Carly opened a small box and found a necklace inside. It had a row of three butterflies on it. One was red, one blue and one yellow. "Thanks Spencer it's really nice." Carly said giving him a hug.

"Okay because we're kids without a lot of money we got you a group gift." Carly said as she pulled out a box from under the tree. Spencer opened it and found a set of ball ping brackets and wrenches inside. "The guy at the store said this was the best ball ping set they had."

"Wow. Thank you guys. I needed more ball pings. I used my last ones putting that iCarly sign together." Spencer said.

"Fredward I got you a gift this year." Sam said holding up a wrapped square package. "I just have one thing to say before I give it to you." Sam said. Freddie looked at her. "Yeah?" He asked. Sam quickly hit him in the face.

"That never gets old." She said. Freddie rubbed his face and grabbed the package. He opened it and held the recordable DVD's in his hands.

"Wow. You actually put thought into a gift this year. Thanks Sam." Freddie said kind of shocked. "I got you something too." He said handing her a gift. She opened the box and found a 20 dollar bill inside.

"Way to put a lot of thought into that Freddie." Sam said.

"You're gonna tell me you don't like it?' He said.

"Okay. My turn to give you guys your gifts." Carly said as she handed them each a box. They both opened their boxes and found a picture inside. It was the three of them in a picture frame that said iCarly 2009 on the sides.

"Thanks Carly.' Sam and Freddie said.

Sam handed Carly a box which she opened. She found a new purple blouse inside.

"You told me this was for your mom." Carly said.

"Yeah. Like my mom would ever ear a blouse. She only wears t shirts." Sam said.

"Here, open mine." Freddie said as he handed Carly a box. Carly opened it and found a digital frame inside. "You said a couple of months ago that yours broke so I got you this one and filled it with pictures of us. All of us not just you and I." Freddie said.

"Thanks Freddie." She said as she gave him a hug. He held the embrace. Carly didn't pull away so quickly this time.

"Okay, are you two gonna hug all night?" Sam asked.

Carly and Freddie let go of each other.

The four of them spent the rest of the night signing carols and watching Christmas movies and drinking eggnog.

It was getting close to midnight and Sam's mom had come over to get her a little while ago. Freddie was helping Carly clean up as Spencer slept on the couch.

"Spencer sure had become really relaxed about me being here." Freddie said.

"I'm surprised your mom hasn't burst in yet looking for you." Carly said.

"That is kind of strange." Freddie said.

Suddenly they heard a quick knocking at the door and Miss Benson was yelling "Freddie! Freddie!" Carly went to the door and opened it. Miss Benson rushed in and grabbed Freddie by the arm. "Do you know what time it is? Why didn't you call?"

"I'm right across the hall mom. I'm just helping clean up." Freddie said.

"We're going home now." Miss Benson said as she led Freddie to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Carly said.

"See ya. Freddie said as he left the apartment and closed the door.

Carly sat down and looked at the picture frame that Freddie had given her. She paused the display a picture of her and Freddie from an amusement park from last summer. She started to think about what he said earlier. He was hoping she would kiss him on New Years. She started to think of Griffin. Was he who she wanted to kiss on New Years?

Authors Note: Hi everyone. Sorry it took so long to update. The holidays and all. I think the next chapter might be the last of this story. Thanks for reading and the reviews. I promise if the next is the last chapter it will be bursting with Creddie. I look forward to the new episode Saturday at 7 and then ISaved Your Life on Monday the 18th! Thanks again.


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